I may get one of these Kindles ,but where I live in a retirement apartment community with a library and everyone mucks in and there is a book reading club where books get swapped around and recommended etc.We are out in the sticks and I buy loads online and donate them to the library.

but you and I weve been through that and this is not our fate.
So let us so let us not talk falsely now.
The hour is getting late
FROM 2004,TO DO WHAT THIS CLUB HAS DONE,IF THATS NOT GREATNESSTHEN i DONT KNOW WHAT IS.

Both have their uses but what I am finding most useful is the Kindle app on my mobile.

Handy because you can easily use them in lifes waiting moments. You know those little 5 mins here or there.... Waiting for a friends, on transport (not while driving), on lunch at work etc just get the phone out and off you go.

Great devices, just don't like paying Amazon with their tax status in this country, would prefer to use a rival with as good prices and range as Amazon but who pays the expected taxes here.

The Kindle's great for when you're out of the house and can't just browse the bookshelf, but I do love a second-hand bookshop and still enjoy printed books. Also, presentation can suffer on screen, especially when compared to a full-colour illustrated paper book. Kindle does allow you to find specific books and get them almost immediately, and many of the classics are available free.

It's the same with music; if you go to a shop looking for a specific record, they probably won't have it. On the other hand, if you're just browsing to see what you find, a shop is better than a website.

There are also still many titles that are not available as eBooks yet.

Between the optimist & the pessimist
The difference is quite droll:
The optimist sees the doughnut,
The pessimist sees the hole.

I feel quite guilty walking around the places like Waterstones looking at new books and just browsing then taking notes for buying the book from Amazon later.

The annoying thing about the Kindle I have, the old one with the keyboard, is that my local library just does not support it. I used to use the library regularly for new authors and books I wasn't sure about, I'd read it in the library and if I really liked it then I'd often buy it for my own collection.

Arguing with the forum trolls is like playing chess with a pigeon. No matter how good you are, the bird will **** on the board and strut around like it won anyway

Probably depends on your age and what you've grown up with. I prefer electronic formats myself.

True. I love books. I tend not to read fiction or 'the popular books' but read about things that interest me or pique my interest, mainly history. Just done a check on Amazon and the last four books I bought do not come in electronic format, so until they start printing and 'Kindlising' all books printed, I'll stick with the printed word.

One huge disadvantage for some authors on an ebook only is in sales. I have sold as many as 100 books in a day in such as WH Smiths. You have the physical means to flick through the pages in order to woo potential customers. Not so on an ebook only. Price has to be carefully considered as well. I thought Rugby League In Its own Words was too expensive at £17.95. As it turned out, the print-run of 3,000 copies sold out within eleven weeks. Demand was huge running up to the busy Christmas period only for the publisher not wanting to print any more. Obviously any book has to have an appeal factor.

Incidentally, full-time authors are considered a health risk by many insurance companies!

For me nothing beats rummaging through piles of old musty paperbacks at the local second hand book shop, only the other day I got myself half a dozen Michael Moorcock novels for a quid! I should probably give the kindle a try though.

For me nothing beats rummaging through piles of old musty paperbacks at the local second hand book shop, only the other day I got myself half a dozen Michael Moorcock novels for a quid! I should probably give the kindle a try though.

Indeed, there is no shortage of cheap paperbacks and you can give them to someone else.

A good advantage to Kindle is that thousands of out-of-copyright classics are available 100% free and instantly available. All those books you weren't sure you'd like? Now you can find out with zero risk or expense.

I am currently enjoying 'The Great Gatsby', which I've been meaning to read for years, but never got round to.

Between the optimist & the pessimist
The difference is quite droll:
The optimist sees the doughnut,
The pessimist sees the hole.

A good advantage to Kindle is that thousands of out-of-copyright classics are available 100% free and instantly available. All those books you weren't sure you'd like? Now you can find out with zero risk or expense.

I am currently enjoying 'The Great Gatsby', which I've been meaning to read for years, but never got round to.

I suppose there are advantages and disadvantage, depending on which way you look at Kindle versus paperbacks.

I have a Kindle Fire, which is a tablet computer that happens to have an e-book reader on it.

If you just want an e-book reader and nothing else, you would probably be better off with the (cheaper) Paperwhite Kindle, which is a dedicated machine and can be more easily read in bright sunlight, thanks to the screen design.

Between the optimist & the pessimist
The difference is quite droll:
The optimist sees the doughnut,
The pessimist sees the hole.

I do think the Kindle brand isn’t particularly helpful when it comes to that tablet for the consumer. For the tech savvy it’s easy to see that it’s aimed more at the tablet computer market rather than the e-reader market – those who aren’t as aware of such matters though often don’t realise you can get the Kindle reading app on pretty much every tablet/smartphone going. I’ve lost count of the amount of times I’ve pointed out the Kindle Fire isn’t specifically a full colour e-reader (the likes of which in terms of the paper/ink effect like a regular Kindle may be some years away). I can see why Amazon do it, but it does cause some confusion.

I agree on that Kindle Fire. I have the older generation Kindle, the one with the keyboard, and it's fantastic for very sunny beaches or parks, no glare or unworkable contrast issues, but if I try to use the wife's iPad or my laptop then I give it up very quickly as a bad joke. The annoyance is that the local library's software is compatible with the Fire as it's a proper tablet but not with any of the more technologically basic Paperwhite ones.

Arguing with the forum trolls is like playing chess with a pigeon. No matter how good you are, the bird will **** on the board and strut around like it won anyway

I wonder where this will end up, because I doubt paperbacks/hardbacks will disappear as a thing of the past. I did read that e-Book sales have overtaken printed books. My good wife bought four books from Waterstones, Chester, today, and plenty more customers in the shop.